Gift of the Kra-gi
by kleec13
Summary: Martin has his heart set on getting his younger brother the perfect present for his birthday, but it's harder than expected.


I had a lot of fun taking inspiration from Gift of the Magi and my own dislike for buying presents in this fanfic! Even if it follows a similar "formula" to some of my other stories, I hope you like it, too. I should make Kratt brother versions of other classic stories! Happy Birthday Chris! :D

"Ugh," Martin grunted as he sat on the platform behind Aviva's station. The Latina inventor turned around in her chair to her exasperated and discouraged friend.

"What's wrong, Martin?"

"Chris's birthday is in 5 days and I still don't know what to get him."

Presenting shopping wasn't Martin's strong suit. He would make a hasty impulsive decision eventually, but only after many stressful moments wandering around stores like a chicken with its head cut off. And it didn't help that Chris seemed to have a 6th sense when it came to gift giving.

"Martin, you know what I always say when you ask about presents for Chris," Aviva responded.

"That Chris will love anything I get him," Martin said with a little eye roll to follow. "You're right, but he gives me such great stuff for my birthday, the least I could do is return the gesture. I don't know why that's so hard," Martin continued with another groan. Aviva gave her friend a sympathetic look as she decided to help him after all.

"Alright, if you really want my advice, you can't go wrong with handmade gifts, especially being the creative person you are."

"Well, you're not wrong about that," Martin concluded. "Thanks, Aviva. I'll get brainstorming."

"Always glad to help!"

After, Martin sat on his bed with a notepad and paper scribbling ideas. He could always draw something for Chris, but he had drawn many things as presents for Chris already. He gazed over at Chris's area of the room for ideas. He came across Chris's broken creature power disc holder. It broke a while back but he hadn't had time to get a new one. That was it! Martin could buy a replacement case and paint it to make it more personal.

Martin found a case, which was green of course, the next day along with some paint. The team was on a break from creature adventuring, so over the next couple hours, he had time to fill the case with various creatures and creature symbols and a CK over the lid. It was simple, yet effective. He finished and put away the supplies just in time.

"Hey Martin," Chris called from the other room. "Jimmy's Grandma made some of her famous brownies for us."

"Coming!"

It was a nice, sunny July morning for Chris's birthday celebration at the Tortuga. The team had asked Chris to stay away the day before so they could prepare. Chris woke up on his birthday feeling very lucky. He got ready and quickly went inside to see what the Tortuga looked like. The moment Chris walked in, he saw a big banner with "Happy Birthday Chris" on it.

"Happy Birthday Chris!" the rest of the team said from in front of the main screen.

"Wow! It looks fantastic! Thanks guys. You're the best!"

"So. Was it worth being kicked out of the Tortuga yesterday?" Aviva asked.

"Yeah! I got that new creature power disc holder I needed," Chris said showing off the case.

"Fantastic! I'm glad you finally got a chance to replace it," Aviva said.

"Yeah, having a broken one was rough."

Martin looked at the case his heart racing faster every second. The world around him seemed to be muted as he couldn't focus on anything else. How could he have been so stupid? He should have figured Chris could have gotten a new case for his birthday somehow. As the party began, Martin tried to play it as cool as possible, but he couldn't wrap his head around what had happened. Martin kept the case he'd made in their Tortuga bedroom knowing that it would be an embarrassing experience if Chris opened it in front of anyone. But Chris had to know somehow. How? Martin was standing around the snack table wondering what to do as Chris and Koki were refilling punch.

"Hey Chris, are you cool with opening presents now?" Koki asked.

"Sure!"

"Actually, um, Chris, can I talk to you before presents start?" Martin asked.

"Okay," Chris said. Martin led him to their Tortuga bedroom.

"I was wondering if you wanted to talk about something. You've been spacy the entire party," Chris noted. Martin handed Chris the wrapped case. "You didn't put your present with the others?" Chris continued.

"Open it, and it will explain everything," Martin said. Chris nodded and opened his present. As he saw the case in the open packaging, he looked at the case, then up at Martin, dumbfounded.

"That was my reaction too…" Martin started.

"Thanks," Chris cut off in a firm, but kind tone. "I love it."

"Really?" Martin asked.

"Yeah! It's practical, yet still has a certain Martin-ness to it with all your added designs. It's perfect! I'm not just saying that," Chris promised.

"I'm really glad you like it," Martin said sincerely.

"I could always return the one I bought," Chris assured.

While that seemed like the logical thing to do, Martin didn't want to be the reason Chris gave away something he otherwise would have liked.

"No, you can keep it if you want,"Martin said. "It's a good case and having another one lying around wouldn't hurt."

Chris winced at his brother in surprise.

"Are you sure?"

Martin shrugged. Either way, his mission to give Chris the perfect gift didn't go as planned. But Martin was okay with that.

"Well, it's your case," he told Chris. "You should decide what to do with it. Again, I'm just glad I got you something you really liked."

Chris appreciated Martin's flexibility and understanding, but didn't feel comfortable keeping the other case either knowing how much Martin wanted him to like the other one. "There's got to be a compromise here," Chris thought to himself. "What would Martin do if the roles were reversed?" Martin would make lemonade out of lemonade somehow, as he usually did. Lemonade out of lemons…

"Tell you what, do you want to decorate the other one?" Chris asked.

"You'd let me do that?" Martin asked, blue eyes wide.

"Of course! You're right, it can't hurt to have an extra case around. And if I'm gonna keep it, it's gotta look good in comparison to the other one. So how about it?"

"Sure! But not until after we party. I have a younger brother to celebrate!"


End file.
